Daughter of Darkness
by Author of Doom Storm
Summary: summary to come later
1. Default Chapter

Daughter of Darkness  
by Author of Doom: Storm  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, J.K.Rowling does. But if I did,  
Sirius would be alive and well. And because this is my fic, Sirius will be  
alive.  
  
Prologue  
  
The air was cold and damp, and thin slots of light filtered into the stone  
cell coming from between the bars. The prisoners were all still there,  
huddled in their cages. Some raved, some screamed, some were quiet. They  
all went silent eventually. From beyond the door, they heard footsteps.   
The prisoners stopped short. Voices, a familiar one - Stephen Harkley, the  
keeper of this section of Azkaban, the section where all who were sentenced  
to life lived, if you could this living. The other voice was that of a  
young woman. The cellar door opened. Harkley led the beautiful lady down  
the steps and into the dark row, past the cells, stopping at the last one,  
hidden in shadow. Some of the more sane prisoners watched her pass,  
curious. Who was she? Despite the heavy presence of the Dementors, she  
held her head up, but the look on her face was one of shock. Who was she  
visiting?  
  
"Miss Lune, this is the one."  
  
"Thank you." She peered into the stone cage through the thick bars, her  
hands curling around two. After a while her eyes adjusted to the dim  
light. She turned to Harkley,"You call this a prison? It's more like a  
tomb! Do you feed them at all?" Harkley sighed,  
  
"Ma'am, it's not up to me how much they're fed. And even if I could, I  
wouldn't give them much. They deserve it." She looked away, back into the  
cell.  
  
"No human being deserves this." She was quiet for a moment, "Sirius?" No  
response. "Sirius, can you hear me?" He looked up, staring with deadened,  
crazed eyes.  
  
"Who...?" Came his query, sounding like a lost little boy.  
"It's Selene."  
  
"Selene?" A hint of sanity appeared in his ice blue eyes.  
  
"Yes. I'm here." He got up shakily and walked over to the bars. She  
could see he had lost a lot of weight. His frame had once been strong and  
muscular; the physique of a Beater, but now it was gaunt and skinny. He  
had lost his tan, skin now pale and sallow.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"To see you again."  
  
"It wasn't me. It was him."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Peter." She frowned,  
  
"Sirius, Peter's dead. You killed him."  
  
"No, he killed them all!" He insisted, "If I had kept the Secret, then  
they wouldn't have died. But I didn't, so now they're gone."  
  
"I don't follow you."  
  
"It was my fault, because I trusted him, but he killed them."  
  
"So you didn't betray Lily and James?"  
  
"Shh!" He hushed her, putting a finger to his parched lips. "If you say  
their names again I'll see them again."  
  
"You see them?"  
  
"Yes. I didn't kill them. Peter did." They were quiet for a long  
moment. "You don't... believe me, do you...?"   
  
"I don't know what to believe anymore." She paused, "What do they say?"  
  
"They blame me."  
  
"I brought food and water." He stared hungrily. "Do they feed you?"  
  
"Sometimes," He said quietly, rubbing his head as if he had a headache.   
Selene noticed deep scars on his wrists that had been concealed by the  
shabby prison robes. They were bite marks.  
  
"What did you do to yourself?!" She whispered in disbelief. The Sirius  
she knew would never have tried to kill himself! Just a single glance had  
told her he had changed quite a bit in the year and a half since she had  
seen him last, before she had gone into hiding without him. But she didn't  
think he could have changed this much! She knew the man she had loved was  
in there somewhere. He shrugged,  
  
"Tried to kill myself, it's really the only way out of this hell-hole.   
I've lost count of how many times I've tried to escape. 'S close to  
impossible to get out of here alive." Catching her querying look, he  
rushed to explain. "You try living with Dementors twenty-four seven." Her  
storm grey eyes grew soft, and she nodded,  
  
"I understand. Just... don't do it again, okay? I don't want to lose  
you." Sirius chuckled wearily,  
  
"I'll make no promises, but I'll do my best." It wasn't good enough for  
her, but it would have to do. She took his thin hand in hers.  
  
"Come here." He obeyed. "I still love you, whether you're innocent or  
guilty." They were nose to nose, though separated by the bars. She leaned  
forward into them, and their lips met. His kiss was that of a desperate  
man, who had found something he had thought lost forever. Finally, they  
parted. Harkley coughed loudly.  
  
"Ma'am, your time's almost up." She sighed, eye regretful.  
  
"I have to go." Selene told him,  
  
"Why? Can't you stay just a little longer?" He pleaded, and she looked  
down, biting her lip.  
  
"Sirius, I have a daughter. I have to go back to her."  
  
"Miss Lune... You need to leave now." Harkley insisted, and she threw one  
last longing look at Sirius.  
  
"Goodbye. Don't forget me."  
  
"Never." She turned, and Harkley led her out. Before she reached the top  
of the steps, she heard him whisper softly in wonder,  
  
"A daughter..."  
  
Yes Sirius, she thought, a daughter. Our daughter...  



	2. December

December

Nine-year old Melissa Lune-Hawkins sighed, staring out the window of her sixth grade class (in the Bobbins Academy for Wizarding Children). She was the daughter of Selene Lune, and someone else. She knew it wasn't her step-father Arius Hawkins, but she wished she was. Maybe then he would love her as much as his own sons Morticus (17), and Anthony (13). 

*Mom won't tell me who my real dad is,* she thought bitterly, *and everybody are always whispering about how my father is a criminal. He must be a Muggle in prison somewhere.* Strange, the only she had ever heard about her father was that she had received her blue eyes from him. No wonder she was so scorned by all the other children, all pure-bloods! She was half-and-half, and they were despised just as much as those Muggle-born.

_This is my December  
This is my time of the year  
This is my December  
This is all so clear_

Hilda Merriwakies, the sixth grade teacher, took an uneasy glance at the petite form of her youngest pupil, staring out the window at the falling December snow. From the moment she had seen her, Hilda had known there was something different about her. And she was right. Not too soon afterward, word got out among the teachers; the daughter of Sirius Black – the great murderer of 1981, Voldemort's second-hand man – had come to Bobbins. But it wasn't just that that made her different. At first she had been a happy child, smart, unusually bright, so bright that she had skipped a year. But by fourth grade, she changed. No longer was she cheery and talkative, but sullen and quiet. Years of the other children making fun of her and ignoring her had taken its toll._  
  
Just wish that I didn't feel like there was something I missed  
Just wish that I didn't feel like there was something I missed_

They had made her an outcast, and she didn't even know why. Could it be that she had no idea who her father was? 

Then, in fifth grade, she met Neville Longbottom, an outsider like herself. He had been cast out because of his poor school performance, his unconfidence. One day at recess (according to the teacher standing watch) the boys started to make fun of him, then began to beat him up. Melissa, standing nearby, snapped. She ran over to them, yelling at them.

"STOP IT!!!" They ignored her as always. Silent, she pointed at them. At first nothing happened, then the ground shook slightly. They rose off the ground, hanging in mid-air twenty feet off the ground. She took one look at them, a look at Neville, grabbed his had and ran. It took an hour for the staff to get the boys down. Melissa was given a week's worth of detention. A fragile bond of friendship was forged between the two, and they remained steadfast companions until their acceptance into Hogwarts._  
  
This is my December  
This is my snow covered home  
This is my December  
This is me alone_

Now more than ever the children avoided her. Sadly, Neville and Melissa were in different classes. But they stood up for each other at recess. The boys left Neville alone only because they knew if they did anything to him, they would suffer her wrath. _  
  
(And I)  
Just wish that I didn't feel, like there was something I missed  
(And I)  
Take back all the things I said to make you feel like that  
(And I)  
Just wish that I didn't feel, like there was something I missed  
(And I)  
Take back all the things that I said to you_

Strangely, Draco Malfoy grudgingly accepted her power, and a rivalry grew. Both were smart, and they tried their best to outdo each other in class and feats of athleticism. Naturally, being a boy, Draco was better at sports. But Melissa was still better at academics, and so they pushed each other farther and farther.

_  
  
And I'd give it all away  
Just to have somewhere to go to  
Give it all away  
To have someone to come home to_

*At least I have Neville,* Melissa thought, *At least I have my family.* What would she do without them? When she got home, she would tell them about her day. At night she would discuss the injustices of the world with Anthony, and he would hold her as she cried. Around them she could be herself._  
  
This is my December  
These are my snow covered trees  
This is me pretending  
This is all I need_

The Hawkins' tried to pretend everything was okay. They always told her that tomorrow would never stop coming, that even though life was hard, it would go on. And someday it would be better. 

_  
(And I)  
Just wish that I didn't feel, like there was something I missed  
(And I)  
Take back all the things I said to make you feel like that  
(And I)  
Just wish that I didn't feel, like there was something I missed  
(And I)  
Take back all the things that I said to you_

Having adopted the daughter of Sirius Black had been hard on Arius. He had once been a respectable man of high social standing. His ambitions – becoming head of the department of Misuse of Muggle Artifacts - were no longer fully possible because of her.

_And I'd give it all away  
Just to have somewhere to go to  
Give it all away  
To have someone to come home to_

He tried not to take it out on her, but sometimes it was hard not to. He was strict on her, sometimes a little too strict, whereas he was more easygoing on Anthony and Morticus. It seemed that he favored them, but it wasn't true; he loved her as if she were his own. He wished that the world wouldn't be so cruel to her, so then maybe she could be happy. Over the years he had watched her as she grew up too fast._  
  
This is my December  
This is my time of the year  
This is my December  
This is all so clear_

Hilda wondered that if Melissa ever became a monster like her father, would it be their fault? Maybe they could have done something different. After all, they had changed this young girl with hair the color of red wine from a child of this world to something otherworldly. But it was too late. In another year the child would be going to Hogwarts, and coming into her own as a member of the wizarding community, but still an outsider. It was cruel, how she had done nothing wrong except exist. 

*My God!* Hilda realized, *She'll be in the same year as Harry Potter!* What would happen? Surely nothing good could come of their meeting.

_  
Give it all away  
Just to have somewhere to go to  
Give it all away  
To have someone to come home to_

_To have someone to come home to_

Only the future could tell.

So, what do you think? What should I do with Melissa? I'll take any reasonable suggestions. No flames please! But if you are going to flame me, at least tell me what I can do better. Thanks,

                                                                            Author of Doom: Storm


End file.
